The Australian two-cent coin is the second smallest denomination of the Australian dollar. It was introduced with the Currency Act 1965 (Commonwealth) but - unlike some of the other denominations - it did not replace an earlier pre-decimal coin; given that the 5 cents piece replaced the sixpence, two cents were technically equal to 2.4 pence but the Act rounded that to either two or three pence. The halfpenny, penny and threepence denominations had no exact equivalent in the new system, unlike the sixpence, shilling and florin which were equivalent to respectively 5 cents, 10 cents and 20 cents and were re-denominated as such
The one cent and the two cent denominations were withdrawn from circulation in February 1992. They have never been demonetised though and remain legal tender.
In 2011, the Royal Australian Mint struck some in silver as an item for collectors. They are of Proof grade only and were issued in a pair (one cent and two cents only, not a full mint set).
The coins weigh 6.03 grams and have purity of 0.999 silver (0.1937 oz. ASW). |